Feature story

A century-old thatched roof

Thanh Phuc - Khanh Ly • May 28, 2025 09:57

In the cloud-covered villages of Ky Son district, a mountainous region, the houses with roofs made of cypress wood covered in green moss silently embrace the villages like tranquil melodies.

Thanh Phuc - Khanh LyMay 27, 2025

From the winding mountain passes of the vast forest, nestled between heaven and earth, Buoc Mu 2 village in Na Ngoi commune emerges with its houses thatched with cypress wood, peeking through the morning sun, as if preserving the very soul of the great forest.

Visit the home of Mr. Già Xái Phia (60 years old), a respected figure in the village, where three generations have lived in a house with a glossy brown thatched roof.

Mr. Phia's house, nearly half a century old, has its roof covered in green moss, a testament to the passage of time. This house, built from nothing by him and his wife, has witnessed the births of their children and countless ceremonies, including rituals for praying for a good harvest and the offering of the new rice crop.

Then his children grew up, got married, and started their own families, but they still lived together in that same house. His grandchildren were born, continuing the family line for generations…

This house is not only a witness to each individual's life, but also a red thread connecting generations of the family.

“Now that the economy is better, we can build bigger houses, we can replace the thatched roof with corrugated iron… But I still advise my children to preserve the traditional houses, to preserve the thatched roofs. Without that thatched roof, the Hmong village would no longer be a Hmong village,” Mr. Phia said.

Venturing deeper into the villages of Na Ngoi commune, we also encountered ancient houses with thatched roofs made of cypress wood belonging to the Hmong people, nestled on the mountainside.

Mr. Xong Ba Re, a resident of Buoc Mu village and owner of a house with ancient Mong architecture (a single-story house with a low roof, two doors, one main and one side) over a century old, shared: "Sa mu wood is a rare and precious type of wood. The wood contains oil that makes it water-resistant and termite-resistant. Therefore, since ancient times, the Mong people have used sa mu planks to roof their houses."

"This is a type of fragrant, oil-rich wood; the more it's exposed to rain and sun, the more durable and antique it becomes. In particular, houses roofed with cypress wood are airtight, warm in winter, cool in summer, and resistant to mold."

Pointing to the glossy brown fir wood roof of his house, Mr. Rê continued: "My parents' house, roofed with fir wood over 100 years ago, still has the fir wood roof almost intact today."

Inside the house, everything from the earthen stove and the wooden cupboard for dishes, pots, and pans to the storage cabinets made of cypress wood, all over half a century old, remains intact.

Building a house is a momentous event in the life of every Hmong family. The process requires meticulous effort, attention to detail, and even spirituality. In the past, before the forest was closed off, homeowners had to seek out ancient forests where towering fir trees stood majestically amidst the clouds.

After the ritual of offering prayers to the forest spirits to ask for permission, the strong, healthy trees are carefully selected and felled in the traditional way, avoiding causing excessive pain to the "spirit of the tree".

The fir tree trunks are sawn entirely by hand: each plank is 4–5 cm thick, about 30–40 cm wide, and up to 3–4 m long. The Hmong people use machetes, wooden axes, and other rudimentary but precise tools.

Each plank is then beveled, sanded smooth, and carefully marked for laying on the roof.

When roofing, the craftsmen lay the planks tightly together like fish scales, creating a perfect natural waterproofing system. The house frame is also constructed from large logs, joined together with wooden joints and rattan vines, using almost no iron nails.

Each house is like a living work of art, preserving the craftsmanship, patience, and soul of the artisan through every stroke of the knife and every carving.

Tay Son commune is a locality that still preserves many traditional houses of the Mong ethnic group in Ky Son district. For the local Party committee, government, and people, preserving the traditional thatched-roof houses is not only about preserving the ethnic cultural identity but also a direction for developing ecotourism and community tourism.

Visiting Tay Son commune this season, everyone is sure to feel a sense of nostalgia at the peaceful and captivating scenery of traditional thatched houses nestled beneath peach, plum, and wild mango trees laden with fruit.

Huoi Giang 1 village is one of the villages in Tay Son commune that still preserves a cluster of ancient houses with thatched roofs. Some of these houses are centuries old.

Following the Tây Sơn commune officials, we went to the home of Mrs. Lầu Y Ia (96 years old) in Huồi Giảng 1 village.

In the time-worn house, the thatched roof is covered in moss, many slabs worn down by rain and sun, some cracked, revealing gaps through which the early summer sun shines. At 96 years old, Mrs. Ia is still sharp-minded. Although she doesn't speak Vietnamese, she warmly and friendly greets guests in the Hmong language.

Through the translation of a Tây Sơn commune official, Mrs. Lầu Y Ia said: “This house was built by my father and grandfather. I came to live under this wooden roof when I was 17 years old.”

The house is probably several decades older than we are. Even now, the thatched roof of the house seems to remain largely intact, with only a few worn or damaged panels needing replacement."

Those roofs, thatched with dark brown fir wood, stained by sun and wind, were something we encountered on our reporting trips to the border villages of Nghe An province.

From Tay Son through Na Ngoi, Huoi Tu, Muong Long… hidden amidst the majestic mountains, these houses retain their pristine beauty. These roofs were built when our ancestors chose this land to establish villages and settlements. These houses are not merely wooden structures to shelter from rain and sun, but also represent the identity, the roots, and the traditions of an entire community.

Despite their durability, these ancient cypress wood roofs are gradually disappearing. This is partly because time has taken its toll, with many wooden roofs cracking and rotting, unable to withstand the elements any longer.

Furthermore, because the exploitation of fir wood in the primary forest has been strictly prohibited, the Hmong people in Tay Son commune strictly adhere to the general policy of the Party and the State, no longer cutting fir wood for house construction, but instead working together to plant and preserve the forest.

Modern life has also permeated every home, village, and hamlet. Cold-rolled corrugated iron sheets, fired clay roof tiles, and plastic roofing, which are convenient and inexpensive, are gradually replacing the traditional cypress wood roofs.

Walking around the villages in Ky Son district, it's easy to see many roofs now a mix of the green and red of new corrugated iron sheets interspersed with the dark brown of old thatched roofs. In his house, which is over half a century old, Mr. Vu Ba Phu in Huoi Giang 1 village, Tay Son commune, pointed to the roof and said: "Many of the old wooden planks are cracked and leaking. Since there are no replacement thatched roofs, the family has to use transparent plastic sheets under the old roof to prevent rainwater from seeping in."

To preserve this unique architectural style, many households, like Mr. Gia Xai Phia in Buoc Mu 2 village, Na Ngoi commune, have carefully stockpiled every remaining cypress wood plank in case of repairs; Mr. Xong Nhia Di in Buoc Mu village, Na Ngoi commune, has gone to great lengths throughout the village to find and ask for old planks to replace the old ones…

To preserve the precious gift left by their ancestors, some households, like Mr. Vu Lau Phong in Huoi Giang 1 village, buy transparent plastic roofing sheets to insert under the thatched roof, both to prevent leaks and to maintain the ancient charm of their houses.

Some houses, which were once simple structures with pillars buried in the ground, have now been raised on stilts, with only the thatched roofs remaining unchanged for hundreds of years… This is a small effort, but one imbued with pride and a deep appreciation for the heritage of our ancestors.

Not only preserving artifacts, many Hmong families in Ky Son district are also proactively planting new fir forests. These include Mr. Gia Xai Phia, Mr. Gia Tong Thu (Na Ngoi commune), Mr. Vu Cha Chong (Huoi Tu commune)... diligently and quietly establishing these fir forests.

For them, each fir tree planted not only contributes to preserving the forest and protecting the environment, but also serves as a gift to future generations – a valuable source of materials for roofing houses and preserving traditional architecture.

According to statistics, in Ky Son district, there are fewer than 100 houses in 23 villages across 6 communes that still preserve houses made from cypress wood, some of which are nearly 300 years old.

Many of these ancient houses are concentrated in Tay Son commune. According to Mr. Vu Ba Re, Vice Chairman of the Tay Son Commune People's Committee, about 85% of the traditional houses of the Mong people remain in Tay Son commune. Of these, only about 20 houses with cypress wood roofs have been preserved intact. In recent times, the local authorities have been very interested in encouraging people to preserve these ancient houses, both to serve community tourism and experiential tourism, and to preserve the unique cultural identity of the Mong people.

"We applied the policies and support mechanisms under the Project 'Enhancing knowledge and capacity for disaster adaptation in the context of climate change for ethnic minorities in Ky Son district, Nghe An province,' led by the District Farmers' Association, to install commemorative plaques on 25 houses in Huoi Giang 1, 2, and 3 villages, Tay Son commune, to promote family responsibility in preserving ancient houses, and also utilized funds from the house repair program for the poor to support the installation of plastic sheeting under thatched roofs to prevent leaks," said Mr. Vu Ba Re.

Understanding the immense value of the traditional thatched roofs, Ky Son district has been implementing various solutions to preserve this unique architectural feature. The remaining houses are numbered and inventoried to propose preservation plans to relevant agencies.

According to Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung, Chairman of the Ky Son District People's Committee, the well-preserved cypress wood houses are not only cultural treasures but also unique "tourism resources" of Ky Son district. For tourists, seeing and touching the wooden planks that have weathered countless seasons of rain, sun, wind, and frost is a rare experience. Furthermore, the architecture of the cypress wood houses, with their excellent adaptation to the mountainous climate, serves as a vivid lesson in the harmony between humans and nature.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung also emphasized: "If properly preserved and exploited, villages that still retain traditional houses with thatched roofs can become attractive destinations for community tourism, experiential tourism, and cultural tourism, helping people both preserve their identity and develop a sustainable economy. We are proposing to relevant departments and agencies to find solutions to support and restore these ancient houses with thatched roofs made of thatched wood. If done well, this will be an invaluable asset for the development of community tourism."

It can be said that, amidst the whirlwind of time and change, the Hmong people in Ky Son district are persistently clinging to their ancient houses as if clinging to memories and the soul of their village.